Once per day, the bearer can invoke a form of fire shield that protects against cold attacks and damages opponents with fire and holy damage similarly to the spell flame strike.

Once per round as an immediate action, if an adjacent ally is hit by a ranged or melee attack, the bearer can use the shield to redirect the attack to himself, taking all effects from that attack as if he were the intended target.

All allies within 100 feet of the bearer gain the effect of bless and prayer. Additionally, all allies within 100 feet of the bearer know his relative position and condition, as per the spell status.

Beyond these properties, the Shield of the Winged Eye is designed to protect its bearer from death. Any attack that would kill the bearer (not merely make him unconscious or dying) triggers this ability, redirecting the lethal attack fully upon the shield and leaving the bearer unharmed (even if the attack normally only works on living creatures).

For example, if the bearer failed a saving throw against flesh to stone, the shield would turn to stone and shatter instead, whereas if the bearer failed his save against horrid wilting, the shield would turn to dry splinters. This power always destroys the shield, reducing it to 1d20 nearly invulnerable shards that suggest the way in which it was last destroyed. The Shield of the Winged Eye bestows two negative levels on any chaotic creature that attempts to wield it. These negative levels remain as long as the shield is held or carried. These negative levels never result in actual level loss, but they cannot be overcome in any way (including restoration spells) while the creature possesses the shield.

DESTRUCTION

The Shield of the Winged Eye is designed to be destroyed, but the supposedly invulnerable shards left by its destruction can be utterly destroyed if they are consumed by a chaotic neutral being at least as powerful as a demigod.

RAMIFICATIONS

Those who would take up the Shield of the Winged Eye must first restore it—a nigh-impossible challenge.

A Legend Reforged: Those who possess all of the Shield of the Winged Eye’s shards can attempt to recreate the shield in one of two ways. The most difficult method is to petition a deity to personally intervene and recreate the shield. Barring this, lawful neutral mortals can recreate the shield by casting a wish spell upon the shards in an area consecrated to a lawful neutral deity. It requires a week to reforge the shield, and the creator must spend the entire time within the consecrated area, each day succeeding at a DC 35 Craft (armor) check.

While a deity can recreate the Shield of the Winged Eye perfectly, even the most talented mortal’s attempt has a subtle flaw. Anytime the bearer fails a saving throw by rolling a 1, the shield must also attempt the same saving throw. If the shield fails this save by rolling a 1, it shatters into 1d20 pieces.

Restoring the Shards: Eleven of the Shield’s 12 shards currently rest in one great city. The twelfth is said to be locked away within a haunted prison tower, possibly still within the palm of a great tyrant. If this is true, recreating the Shield of the Winged Eye would require the breaching of the great seal that bars the prison, potentially releasing the tyrant back upon the world.